Early photography .. things I've learned..

I've learned a lot since I started taking photographs almost 10 years ago.. and one of the worst things I ever did was to process my photographs small to put on a website I was on.. then ditch the originals..

oh
my
god

Yes..I did that when I went to the UK and France with a friend.. and now I don't even have those photographs.. so sad. So today I'm going to present you with my small array of photos from England, Scotland, and Paris.

and weep silently into my pillow while you take a look..

From Cambridge (loved it as much as I disliked London):

   

  

  

From Paris (only there 24 hours but loved it):

   

 From Scotland.. my favorite:

     

     

Dreams

One of those nights/early mornings.. up at 4 a.m. dead tired yet unable to sleep.. I want coffee but have given myself only a little on the weekends (cuz I load it up with bad stuff and won't drink it any other way).. therefore, once a week will have to do.

I keep having dreams - not necessarily when I'm sleeping. Dreaming of shows coming up, particularly a few of the new ones.. Dreaming of a new style of photo jewelry I want to make... And most of all, dreaming of Spring.

I feel like such a prisoner in the Winter. I know it's mostly self-imposed, but I really don't just jump in the car and go anywhere this time of year - even to take photographs. There is snow to ponder, and crazy drivers IN that snow to avoid, and ... well .. it's damned cold outside. 

So on I dream.. three to four more weeks of this and we'll be on the downhill slide. Sometimes when the sun is shining and I don't look outside, I can feel Spring in the air. Here's to grass, and flowers, and walking the dog without whining (me, not the dog)..

Expectation:

"Spring Mix"

Reality:

"Tracking Snow"

Testing the Tortilla

Oh, it's been a very long time since I've blogged.. but I'm going to try to do it more in 2013 .. of course, as we all know, it's already the middle of February and I'm just starting :O

Photography wise, I've been trying to take/work on a photograph a day, if possible.. or at least 5 a week. It's what I truly love to do and I think I was letting it slide a little since I began creating wearable art - photo jewelry - which is much more time consuming (but doesn't really hold my heart).

Another thing I began doing at the beginning of the year was juicing combined with cutting out sugar and processed food. And, while it's time consuming, I feel so much better than I did and had the added bonus of losing weight, too.

In my travels along health's highway, I've found some recipes that looked scrumptious and tasted something off the bottom of a shoe. My husband and I have this "signal" for new food I make. It goes like this:

"so honey, how do you like it?"
"um, it's fine."
"fine, you say? but do you like it?
"well, it's okay."
(secret phrase) ---> "Would you like me to make it again?"
"no, um, no thank you"

I've heard some of this but not too much any more because I try (oy, do I try) to make it similar to foods he likes, with a healthy twist. His concession to eating better was 1 bag of potato chips, a six pack of beer, and 1 bottle of diet soda on the weekend. It was the best negotiation I could get.

I shop once a week for the organic food - which this town does NOT have a lot of. I bake bread about every other day - haven't bought a loaf for 1.5 months. Make my own peanut butter now by shelling roasted peanuts and using a food processor until I'm sure it will burst into flames. I add a touch of salt and a little honey. It's divine and much more peanuty.. and my husband eats it too fast.

Note to self.. make hubby shell peanuts for next batch.

So today I made whole wheat tortillas for the first time. So easy I was a little surprised. The recipe I found was for 8 but you could double it, etc. and freeze some. Five ingredients is all it consists of: whole wheat flour, oil, salt, baking soda and water. You can also make it with half whole wheat and half white flour if you want.

I took blurry pics with my iphone and forgot to start doing it until I had already started to divide the dough into 8 balls. Here are the photos:

sectioning the dough into 8 balls

rolling out thin

un-greased frying pan - weird shapes

plate o' tortillas

Here's the recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/pipin-hot-bakery-whole-wheat-tortillas-7417

Tonight we'll have these with some shredded chicken and some tex mex black bean dip (spread on the tortillas)..

damn I'm hungry..